Moving Forward, Growing Up
by XxAi-HimexX
Summary: A young girl moves to the Sunshine Islands to escape her past, and better her circumstances only to put herself in the hole again by making a bet with the local animal dealer. She has to come up with 100,000 G by Winter 30 or risk her money, and pride.
1. Prologue

_Mom,_

_I don't understand how all of this could have happened, and I don't want to believe it. I can't fix it anymore. There's no reason for me to stay._

_Thank you, I'm sorry._

XxX

It was a couple hours past dawn on the collection of islands. There was no hustle and bustle that would have inevitably woken her up earlier if she was back in the city. Up late on the first day? Taro expected more. Goddess, she was probably going to get an ear full. Chelsea rose from her bed, immediately dreading what was to come. Her feet hit the cold wooden floors and she tried to come up with an excuse that Taro would accept. He was a stickler for punctuality, the likes of which she was not.

A little "Mew" came from the corner of the small room and Chelsea was reminded of her tiny white kitten, Persia, that had come with her from her home back in the city. It was morning, so breakfast for the both of them would be a good thing. She was already a couple hours late, there was no sense in getting worked up over a few more minutes of tardiness.

After gulping down a small breakfast of sticky rice and bread, Chelsea got some pet food for Persia that she had bought at the local animal store. She placed it in the middle of what would become a kitchen. On the floor by Chelsea's feet was a magazine sprawled out in which one lovely picture was circled in red ink. 'You just have to work for it,' Chelsea thought. Earning the money for the kitchen would be the easy part. The hard part would be coming up with enough wood to actually build it. "Oh well," she said to herself, "One of the down sides to living in the middle of nowhere is gathering the materials to build things."

After she dressed in her usual red bandanna, blue jean capris, and red cowgirl boots she felt ready to start the day. The day, however, didn't seem quite ready for her.

Chelsea spent the majority of the previous day learning about all the basic skills required for farming, and re-learning after Taro had finished lecturing about what she did wrong. She was just having a difficult time being able to 'properly' grasp all of the techniques necessary to do an adequate job. Eventually, Taro himself had given up trying to teach but, Chelsea on the other hand kept working at it whilst becoming more and more frustrated with herself as time passed. Today, she was paying the price.

She couldn't grasp her axe properly, and consequently couldn't break the small logs covering her field. She over watered her crops, so they sat in a soupy mess of dirt around her feet. While trying to break the some of the smallest rocks in her field she hit her toe with her hammer, and subsequently broke out into a fit of profanity. Hoping fishing would be something she'd actually be good at she wasn't paying attention and caught her finger on the hook of her fishing rod when trying to apply the bait. The only skill she had mastered to Taro's standards was tilling her field, but even that was taking its tole on her energy, not to mention patience. Chelsea silently chastised herself for not being competent enough to run a meager farm with no one else's help. Her father had been a farmer, and even though she never knew the man she hoped that she might have a natural knack for it. As usual, she was wrong.

After Chelsea decided that she'd had quite enough of farm work, she went to town to pick up more seeds to make up for the ones she'd just killed.

"Good morning Taro," Chelsea said as she walked past the old man, feigning innocence and hoping that he wouldn't notice her blazingly obvious lateness.

"Aye little lady you're out late; it's already 2:30" he said, obviously disappointed.

"I'm really sorry," she said honestly, "I accidentally slept in, and I had sort of a hard time with my chores."

"On your first day? My girl, you ain't ne'er seen a hard day's work in your life! I'm gonna have ta whip you inta shape,"

"Sorry Taro I'm just-"

"Ah! No excuses. I'll send m' boy Elliot over there to get'cha up out of bed," Elliot glanced towards his grandfather after his name was mentioned.

"Grandpa, I'm seriously not-" Elliot cut in before he was forced to do more things he didn't want to and was quickly shushed by the glare on his grandfather's face.

"And Missy, you're gonna have ta work harder if ya want ta do well here, thats that." Chelsea nodded sorrowfully to Taro, she was far more disappointed in herself than Taro was with her, "Hun, why don't ya familiarize yerself with the other rancher on the islands, I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you a few pointers. His name's Mark,"

"Thank you so much, Taro!" Chelsea called, wondering when someone was going to mention that there was another rancher on the islands.

"Oh and by the way Ms. Reynolds, please try _not _ta be late again tomorrow!" Taro called after her from down the dirt road.

Chelsea nodded again, a red tint emblazoning her cheeks. She needed to get over this morning's incidents and give herself a fresh start. Stressing herself out over the little things wasn't going to help her at all. Without hesitation, she decided to visit Mark and have him teach her how to use her tools.

XxX

**That's the end of the prologue! Sorry there's no romance yet, but it does get better no matter how cliche that sounds. Thanks SOO much for reading! Reviews and favorites are not mandatory, but greatly appreciated. In fact, that one review I recieved gave me the motivation to churn out the next chapter the same day I wrote this one. **


	2. Ladies Man

Only one person in the Sunshine Islands could help Chelsea, and that was Mark. He had ranched for at least three years before Chelsea came to the islands. With him came a plethora of prosperity, so if anyone could help her, he could.

Chelsea admired the greenery in Mark's field from afar as she walked from the distance. She knew instantly where his field was after she crossed the bridge from Verdure Island to Sprout Island, all the sounds and smells of a ranch were emanating from the property. As Chelsea neared the start of the farm, she noticed a little commotion in the front. There were two men standing next to a desperate looking cow, and it seemed a little spooked.

"Goddess, I just don't know what the problem is," said a blonde whilst scratching the back of his head. The other man stood up from the side of the cow, not nearly as perplexed as the blonde.

"Mark," he started, "Have the animals been spending nights outside?" Mark nodded in response. The taller man continued, "Well, did ya know that there are wild dogs that sometimes run around these parts at night?"

"Yeah, I've seen 'em before," he replied, suddenly putting two and two together, "Oh I'm so sorry Betsy! I'll never leave you outside at night again, you must've been so scared!" he cried aloud.

The taller man rolled his eyes at Mark's odd display of emotion. Mark continued to pat the cow's head while she mooed loudly.

"Excuse me," Chelsea cut in, immediately attracting attention from the two men, "Hi, my name's Chelsea, and I'm the new rancher off of Verdure Island."

"Nice to meet ya, I'm Mark," said the blonde, offering a hand. Chelsea smiled, gripped his hand firmly and shook, "The dark looking one over there is Vaughn," he gestured toward the taller man, who just nodded his head in response. He either was used to, or didn't care about being called dark. Chelsea, being polite, offered her hand out to the man with the cowboy hat. He didn't seem to care because as soon as she offered her hand, he walked away waving a goodbye to Mark.

"Goddess, is he... always so cold?" Chelsea wondered aloud, forgetting that Mark was nearby.

"Pretty much," he answered, before an awkward silence fell between them.

…

…

"Well, if you don't need anything, I've got to tend to my field," Mark said, before turning to escape towards his house.

"Wait!" Chelsea exclaimed, before clearing her throat nervously, "I, um, actually need some help learning how to use most of my tools."

Mark grinned,"That's no problem at all, I'd be happy to help,"

XxX

Not before long, darkness had claimed the islands and Chelsea decided that it would be best for her to return home. She promptly thanked Mark for his help today, and he again said it was no problem. She finally had a grasp of how to use her tools correctly, hopefully tomorrow she wouldn't have as many problems. While crossing the bridge from Sprout to Verdure Island Chelsea's stomach growled, and she decided that it was time for dinner. She checked her watch, it was 6:30. Definitely time for dinner. There was a lovely little diner that Taro's granddaughter, Natalie, had recommended. Chelsea then made her way to the little eatery known as Nick's.

Chelsea strode through the doors, seeing that the diner was more occupied than she had originally anticipated. Everyone's eyes turned towards the door, and there was Chelsea.

"Hey sweet cheeks!" whistled a voice from one of the back tables, "Why don'tcha come sit back here?"

Almost everyone in the entire bar started snickering. Chelsea froze, was that guy in the purple bandanna talking to _her_? Her face went red, and she walked slowly to the back table.

"Excuse me?" she asked. There sat a drunken looking man in a purple bandanna, and his female companion on the right looked agitated. Chelsea knew she had seen the girl somewhere before. "Do I... know you from somewhere?" she directed towards the young woman.

"I don' think so, but I would suuure like ta get ta know you," said the purple-clad man.

"Shut up, Denny," the young girl said, "Goddess, the last thing you need is another girl to hit on."

"Nah Lanna yer jus' jealous," he slurred, "she's jus' as pretty as you are,"

"I am not jealous!" Lanna yelled, while slamming her palms on the table.

"Suuure you aren't" Denny said while nonchalantly waving his hands.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Excuse me!" Chelsea exclaimed, she'd had quite enough of their lovers' quarrel, "Miss, do I know you from somewhere?" Lanna smiled triumphantly.

"Yes, you probably do! I used to be a famous Idol singer, and now I'm vacationing here on these Islands!"

"Oh my gosh! You're the one who-" Chelsea started.

"Mmhmm" Lanna said, "It's great to meet a fan."

"WELL," Denny cut in, "I'd love ta listen ta the two of you giggle -_hic-_ about girly things, but I'm goin' home,"

"G'night Denny!" Lanna waved as he sauntered not so steadily foot out of the diner. Worridly, she changed her mind, "Maybe I should make sure he gets home safe. I wouldn't want him to fall off the bridge on the way home," and with that she rose to leave as well, and Chelsea was alone again. 'Might as well get myself some food now,' she thought.

She walked hastily to the bartender called Nick, the smells coming from the kitchen left her salivating.

"Excuse me, do you have any miso soba or buckwheat noodles?" Nick nodded, and brought her both dishes.

"That'll be four-hundred-fifty gold," Nick said. Chelsea happily handed him the money, not caring that she only had $600 G left in her pockets.

She devoured the meal, it was her first good one in weeks. She had also skipped lunch because she had been too busy working in her fields, and then didn't have any time for dinner until now. This really hit the spot for Chelsea, all she had to do now was bring home dinner for Persia. After bidding farewell to Nick, she left the diner astonishingly full and with a new energy. There was one more stop for her, a visit to the animal shop to buy more pet food.

XxX

"Julia!" A stout blonde haired lady called, "Someone here to see you!"

"Yeah, Mom!" Julia yelled back as she walked down the stairs from her room where she had been painting her nails.

Chelsea stood in the doorway of the animal shop as she watched her friend Julia come walking down the stairs. "Ah, Chelsea, surprise surprise," Julia smiled.

"Hello Jules, didn't think I was gonna visit today did you?" Chelsea asked.

"I was hoping," Julia giggled, "Come in, come in, what can I do ya for?" Chelsea walked further into the small shop, closer to the counter where Mirabelle stood at the register.

"I just need some food for Persia is all, then I can be on my way,"

"Aw, don't leave so soon," Julia said, "You haven't given me full details yet,"

"Details?" Chelsea asked, perplexed.

"Yes, details! You were at Marks' today for quite some time I hear. What were you two doing?"

"Goddess, what?" Chelsea blushed, "There is absolutely nothing going on between me an Mark! I just met him after all,"

"Your smile gives it all away," Julia teased, "Something definitely happened,"

"No!" Chelsea insisted, waving her hands frantically, "I just needed some help with my farming tools, I didn't know how to use them properly!"

"Uh-huh," Julia nodded, unconvinced. "That's all that happened?"

"Yes," Chelsea said, "absolutely everything,"

"Man!" Julia complained, "You're boring! You're alone with a super hot farm boy for like, five hours, and you don't even make a move,"

"Jules you're so mean! I just met him!" Chelsea squealed, "But..."

"But?" Julia questioned earnestly.

"There was this one guy, Vaughn I think..." Chelsea started.

"Vaughn!" Julia yelled before she started into fits of laughter.

"What's wrong with Vaughn?" Chelsea asked, when suddenly she heard stomping coming from upstairs. Then appeared a tall, violet-eyed cowboy from up the stairs.

"What's with all the yelling? Who called my name?" Vaughn said in an annoyed tone.

"Chelsea, I'd like you to meet my cousin, Vaughn," Julia giggled, "He's a real -_pfft-_ ladies man,"

"Ladies ma- Wha?" Vaughn asked, confused. "Since when am I a ladies man?" Vaughn was becoming extremely annoyed. His loud-mouthed cousin was giving the new girl a very weird first impression of him. That was his job.

...

"I'm going back upstairs"

**End Chapter One of Moving Forward. I hope you guys enjoyed! Reviews and faves are appreciated and encouraged, but certainly not mandatory. Thanks so much for reading!**


	3. Think before you act

Julia and Chelsea have one major thing in common, a love of animals. More particularly, cats. In fact, that's what the two bonded over on the first day that Chelsea had come into the animal shop.

"_Excuse me?" the farm girl asked as she entered the animal shop. _

"_Hello, what can I help you with?" asked a vivacious blonde, "Sorry my mom's not here, but I can help you find what you're looking for,"_

"_I'm just looking for some pet food for my cat, Chen next door said that you guys would be able to help me," _

"_Of course, it'll be ten gold," the young girl said with a smile, and handed Chelsea two bags of pet food. Chelsea quickly noticed the mistake, she'd only paid for one bag. _

"_I'm sorry, but I think you made a mistake, I only paid for one bag," Chelsea started, a little unsure of herself._

"_Oh, don't worry about it. The second bag's on the house," the blonde winked. _

"_Thank you," Chelsea smiled, and after a bit of thought she added, "I don't really need the second bag. Would you mind taking it off my hands?"_

"_Oh I couldn't possibly accept a gift, I don't even really know you," _

"_Well, my name's Chelsea Reynolds. Now you know me," Chelsea said._

"_The name's Julia," Julia giggled, "Thank you for the present. So you have a cat?" _

After that, the two girls hit it off and spent most of what was left in the day getting to know each other. Julia had told Chelsea about all the other people who lived on the islands, except for, conveniently enough, the man who she was sitting across from in Mirabelle's dining room. After completely embarrassing Chelsea in front of the cowboy, Julia invited him to have some milk and cookies with the girls. Right now, Julia was in the kitchen trying to bake the cookies and she left Chelsea and Vaughn to stare at each other across the table.

"So..." Chelsea started, trying to give Vaughn the opportunity to jump into a conversation. A gruff sounding _Humph _was all she got out of him. "You're an animal trader?" Chelsea asked trying to get rid of the awkward silence.

...

"Yes," he grumbled, and didn't continue.

"Do you like your job?" Chelsea asked after a moment.

"Puts food on the table." Chelsea nodded in response, and waited for him to say something else. When he didn't, she just started talking.

"I'm really excited to become a rancher," Chelsea stated, hoping Vaughn would ask her a few questions about herself. He just stared at her looking bored.

"You really think you got what it takes to be a rancher?" Vaughn asked. This tiny, five foot something, one-hundred pound girl wanted to be a rancher, and she seriously thought she could do it.

"Why wouldn't I?" Chelsea inquired, becoming slightly angry. Was he implying something? He didn't think she could do it? Hah! She would show him.

"Listen, you don't know the first thing about ranching, you don't know how to take care of animals, you obviously didn't know how to take care of crops or else you wouldn't have been asking Mark today, and you're _a_ _girl _who's_-_,"

Chelsea slammed her palms on the table, she'd heard enough, "I may not know how to do all those things just yet, but Goddess! I will learn! But the thing I find inexcusable is the fact that you just insulted my gender _to my face_ and said it like it made a difference in whether or not I can ranch!" Vaughn blanched, she had totally misinterpreted what he was saying, and she cut him off before he could explain what he meant.

"Listen, you inter-"

"No you listen! I will make a good rancher! I'd put money on it!"

"You don't know how to ranch!"

"I'll learn!"

"But you're so small, there's no way you're strong enough-" Vaughn started.

Chelsea was boiling mad, this guy doubted everything about her, and was judging her based on appearance! All she was doing was trying to be friendly, and this guy... He was just so sexist! Vaughn was more perplexed as to why this little girl was getting so defensive. Everything he had said was true. Maybe a little blunt, but true.

"I will be a successful rancher!" she said with a huff.

"Listen, little lady I ain't trying to offend ya-"

"Well you're doin' a pretty damn good job!"

"Fine! If you think you're gonna be an amazing rancher, then good for you. I'm just trying to getcha ta pull yer head out of yer ass and realize that it's gonna take hard work, do you think you can do it?"

"YES!" Chelsea yelled, "I'll be just as good as Mark! No, even better than Mark!"

"Do you know what yer sayin'?"

"Of course I do!"

Julia watched the scene before her unfold, Goddess, she'd only left those two alone for barely ten minutes and they were already at each others' throats.

"Guys," she said, trying to get their attention, "I've got the food," but the two kept ignoring her and yelling at one another.

"You think you'll be better than Mark? Do you know how much he made in his first year of ranching?"

"No, but I know that if I work hard then I can do it!"

"Guys?" Julia said once again, a little louder.

"Fine, if you can beat how much Mark made in his first year by Winter 30th then I'd be willin' to bring you animals for free. Even feed for 'em. Whatdaya say?"

"Guuuys?"

"Hell yes!"

"And if I win then you gotta pay me the difference of what you don't make, and help me out with the animals when I'm here."

"Fine with me, but I'm gonna win!"

"Guys!"

"Put 'er there," Vaughn said, extending his arm. Chelsea reciprocated, and the two shook while glaring one another down.

"CHELSEA! VAUGHN!" Julia exploded, tired of being ignored. "What is this! I leave you alone for ten minutes to bake the cookies and get the danged milk and you two are at each others' throats!" Julia huffed, calming down. Her eyes narrowed and she fixed a glare at Vaughn.

"You! Gender's got nothing to do with whether or not Chelsea can ranch! Don't be an ass! And Goddess, wipe that smug grin off your face! And you," Julia turned her glare toward Chelsea, "You're an idiot! Do you know how much Mark made in his first year? He made one-hundred-thousand gold! That's five zeroes, honey!" Chelsea paled. Now she wasn't so confident about being able to make that much money. Hurriedly, Chelsea decided that it was no longer appropriate for her to be there, she was out of place, and just made herself look like a complete moron. Perhaps Vaughn was right...

"Where are you going?" Julia asked, tapping her foot.

"Home?" Chelsea answered, even though it came out sounding like a question.

"Like hell you are, I just slaved over a hot oven for the past ten minutes and you are going to eat what I made," Julia was beginning to sound more like a mother, than a friend, and frankly, Chelsea didn't appreciate it. But, out of courtesy she grabbed one of the cookies off Julia's plate and sat back down.

She refused to look up and meet Vaughn in the eye. She didn't want to see the smirk on his face that just proved she wasn't thinking logically. She needed to learn to start driving with her head, not just go on auto-pilot and say the first thing that came to her mind. Was she kidding herself? She had totally sucked it up today while ranching. Chelsea furrowed her brow, deep in thought. No, she was determined. With hard work she'd get the hang of things. She could make that hundred-thousand. Or at least, she hoped she could. The last thing she wanted was to give that Vaughn the satisfaction of knowing she couldn't do what she put her mind to. And to make things worse, these cookies were awfully gross.

XxX

Vaughn stared at the girl sitting across from him. She seemed to be deep in thought, and wore a plain as day scowl on her face. He silently wondered about this girl, she was so different from the others he had met. Definitely not his type, she was too loud and needed to learn to think before she acted. He couldn't help but find it funny that she dove totally headfirst into his proposed bet, he hadn't even been serious about it. Now he just wanted to see where it all went. But for his sake, he hoped she'd lose. His boss would fire him on the spot if he knew that Vaughn had promised to bring some rancher girl animals for free. He's be even angrier if he found out that it was because of a bet, and to a girl that Vaughn wasn't even particularly fond of.

Vaughn took another bite of his cookie, Goddess these things were terrible. Julia was an awful cook. Grabbing his napkin, Vaughn spit the bite out and didn't eat anymore. He just downed his milk, then stood up.

"Look, this has been fun 'n all, but I got a boat to catch at five t'morrow morning. I'm goin' ta bed," with that, Vaughn walked silently up the stairs after putting his glass in the sink.

Chelsea stared at Julia, "Where's Vaughn going?"

"Vaughn is only here Mondays and Tuesdays, he lives out in the city and delivers animals from out there and brings them here,"

"Ah," Chelsea said knowingly. She glanced down at her cookie. In no way did she want to eat the rest of that thing.

"Jules," Chelsea started, getting the blondes' attention, "These cookies are seriously gross. I refuse to eat anymore,"

"Hey," said Julia in mock-anger, "I worked hard on those!"

"Then you really need another lesson in cooking," Chelsea giggled.

"Fine," Julia said, "You teach me,"

"Alright," Chelsea agreed.

"That wasn't the reaction I was expecting," Julia said, "You cook?"

"And bake, and clean," Chelsea added.

"Where'd you learn?" Julia asked.

"Well, I was really the only one to do it. My mom was never around, and when she was, she didn't have time for me,"

"Oh," replied Julia, a little unsure of what to say. She didn't want to pry, but she was curious.

"Don't ask," Chelsea replied, as if knowing what Julia was thinking, "How about I help you clean up, then give you a few pointers?"

"Sounds good to me," Julia replied, happy to not make her friend any more uncomfortable. "And you know, you're stuck in that bet. There's no way Vaughn will let you weasel out,"

"I wouldn't have it any other way, Goddess, he needs to learn to respect women! Plus, I think I can do it,"

"Chelsea, don't you think you might be a little in over your head? Mark is the best rancher these islands have ever seen,"

"Yeah, well, these islands haven't really met me," Chelsea retorted.

"Huh," Julia said, "Well at least you're confident."

With that, the girls cleaned up all the mess and Chelsea returned home to feed her cat.

**Here's chapter two of Moving Forward, Growing Up. I hope you all liked it! I worked hard. Reviews and favorites are greatly appreciated, but certainly not mandatory. Enjoy! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Digging for what, exactly?

**This one's a long one! Please enjoy. C:**

**Here's chapter three! If you like, please fave and review, though it's certainly not mandatory. I worked really hard on this! Love you all, even the lurkers. Oh, and if you review my story, as a common courtesy I always review one of yours. Have a great day!**

* * *

Chelsea tossed and turned in her bed, she wasn't able to get a wink of sleep. Why had she been so stupid? Chelsea stared at her wooden ceiling trying to find patterns in the engravings of the wood to entertain herself. Usually when she couldn't sleep she would call up Annalise, but there was no way she could do that anymore. Not after what happened between them. Chelsea shook her head in an effort to forget the bitter memory. This was her new life, she needn't worry about the past anymore. Chelsea lolled her head to the right in a lazy effort to glance at the small table on the side of her bed. The digital clock read four-thirty a.m., she might as well get a start on her day if sleep wasn't an option.

Chelsea's feet hit the floor, and Persia looked up from her perch on the end of Chelsea's bed. This morning's breakfast would be the leftover cookies Julia and Chelsea had made together the night before. Julia really was a terrible cook, but Chelsea managed to teach her a few things. For example, how to crack an egg so the shell didn't get mixed into whatever you were making. Julia was a surprisingly fast learner, and Chelsea had some fun for once. Persia mewed, wondering where her breakfast was.

"Aw, don't worry little kitty, I didn't forget about you," Chelsea said while snuggling her pretty kitty. She got breakfast for Persia ready and placed it in the same spot as her would be kitchen. Chelsea sighed. Would be. She was already regretting making that bet, because now she had to save up $100,000 G instead of putting money towards her kitchen, and in this tiny house, she needed some upgrades if she was going to live comfortably. Actually, scratch that. Forget comfortability, Chelsea didn't even have a bathroom in her house. She'd been using Julia's and Mark's for the past two days. That needed to be fixed as soon as possible.

Tired of sitting around in her suffocatingly tiny house, Chelsea pulled on her jacket and left after bidding a short farewell to her cat. Did she really want to do farm work at this hour? No. Not at all. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Chelsea crossed the bridge from Ranch Island to Verdure. It was really beautiful in the early morning, the scenery was something that Chelsea hadn't quite taken the time to admire.

Being early morning, no one else was yet awake from what Chelsea could see. She walked past Nick's Diner, and remembered the slightly awkward encounter between her, Denny and Lanna the night before. The neon sign above the door flashed "Closed", so Chelsea supposed it would still be a few hours until it opened. Before Chelsea knew it, she was walking the perimeter of the beach. There were dozens of colored wild herbs growing up ahead, green, blue, violet, Chelsea figured they'd be good for some nourishment when she was strapped for cash, like now. While stifling a quick yawn, Chelsea strode from behind the wall of rocks that separated her from the right side of the island. Suddenly, something caught her attention.

"Well, thanks for seeing me off," Was that Vaughn? Chelsea decided to get a closer look.

"Uh, no... problem," there, being hid from Chelsea's view was an adorable looking girl clad in purple. She couldn't have been much younger than Chelsea, and her ebony locks flowed in the gentle sea breeze.

"Those two make a really cute couple," Chelsea thought aloud, but not loudly enough for the two to hear her. The ebony haired girl began fiddling around for something, and when she found it she handed it to Vaughn. Chelsea couldn't see that well, but he seemed a little flustered.

"Thanks," muttered an embarrassed Vaughn, and he bade the young girl a farewell, his boots clogging up the pier.

"Wait!" yelled Chelsea suddenly with her arm outstretched. Ebony girl flinched, and Vaughn stared at Chelsea with a look of surprise, then amusement.

"Uh..." Chelsea stuttered, walking closer to the two, "Bye Vaughn," Goddess, her face was red with embarrassment, she just knew.

"See ya," he waved. He seemed to be in a better mood.

"But don't forget! I'm gonna win," Chelsea added quickly, a look of determination on her face.

"We'll see," Vaughn shouted back while boarding the boat. He'd be back next Monday, so by then Chelsea should have made some progress. She did some quick calculations in her head. If she had to make $100,000 in 120 days, then that was $833G per day. There were seven days in a week, so she had to make $5,833G per week. Goddess, that was a lot. Chelsea was lost in thought, and completely oblivious to an angry looking ebony haired girl.

'Wha...What was that?' thought Sabrina. Where had this brunette girl come from? She just appeared out of nowhere after Sabrina gave Vaughn his goodbye gift. And that outburst... Sabrina was indefinitely puzzled as to what Vaughn and that girl had been talking about. Win? Were they in some sort of competition together? Sabrina paled at the thought of Vaughn entering a competition with another girl. She thought that she and Vaughn had something together. Could it have been her imagination all this time?

"Excuse me," Sabrina said, in a fake cheerful voice, "What's your name?" Chelsea jumped and snapped back into reality.

"It's Chelsea," she smiled, "How 'bout yourself?"

"Sabrina," Sabrina smiled, maybe this new girl wasn't so bad after all. She seemed friendly enough.

Chelsea remembered hearing about a girl called Sabrina from Julia. Apparently she was painfully shy, but from what Julia did know about her, she was quite intelligent, pretty, and loved to read. And from the opinions that Chelsea was forming for herself, Sabrina seemed quite nice.

"So, what was that you and Vaughn exchanged words about?" Sabrina said, "Winning, or something?"

"Oh, yeah," Chelsea responded, she'd have to let someone else know about how stupid she'd been. In as little detail as possible, Chelsea explained her and Vaughns' ...business venture... all the while Sabrina became more and more perplexed.

"You really talked to him like that?" Sabrina interrupted, "Goddess, He was trying to do you a favor,"

"You agree with him?" Chelsea questioned, "He insulted my gender, you should be upset about that too, right? You're a girl,"

"I think he was more implying that you were inexperienced and don't exactly have the muscle mass to work efficiently on something as hard labored as a ranch,"

Chelsea thought that over, and maybe Sabrina was right. But that Vaughn didn't have to be so rude about it! She could handle it!

"He didn't have to be rude about it," Chelsea said blatantly.

"Maybe he was rude because you were being defensive," Sabrina huffed, her tone surprised even herself. She was never this ...blatant about her feelings. She needed to regain her composure.

"Goddess! I'm not being defensive," Chelsea retorted, therefore_ proving_ she was being defensive.

"You're contradicting yourself," Sabrina added with a wave of her hand, "Anyways, shouldn't you be working? In your situation you're probably extremely desperate for money,"

Sabrina was right, Chelsea was desperate for gold.

"Do you have any suggestions for making money quick?" Chelsea asked. Sabrina's eyes flashed.

...

"Have you ever been to Volcano Island?"

XxX

Julia helped herself to a nice morning breakfast of sugary-cholesterol, she finished off the last of the cookies she and Chelsea had made the previous night. Chelsea had taken some home too, and they were actually pretty good. Julia peered around the house, trying to figure out if Vaughn had left yet. She decided to check his room, it was a little out of character for Vaughn to leave without saying goodbye. He wouldn't have, right? Surely enough after walking through the upstairs corridor and entering his room, Vaughn wasn't there.

"He didn't even say goodbye," Julia huffed, until something strange caught her eye. She walked closer to Vaughn's nightstand to get a better idea of what she was looking at.

"Oh Goddess!" she said after several moments, realizing what it was. Chelsea would _love_ to see this.

XxX

After her nice chat with Sabrina, Chelsea learned of several new ways to make money, other than farming. Apparently, there were a lot more islands for her to explore. Mainly, Volcano Island. According to Sabrina, there was a mine that her father owned and if Chelsea could travel deep enough, there were lots of rare ores and gems that she could excavate and sell. She planned on making a trip there after she finished watering her crops, which she was almost done with right now.

"Chelsea!" came a yell from the distance, earning Chelsea's attention very quickly. She turned her head towards the direction of the entrance to her farm, and there was Julia running as fast as she could carrying something delicate in her hand.

"L-look what I found in Vaughn's room," Julia panted after arriving close enough to hand Chelsea the offending item.

"I-is that-" Chelsea began to ask, when Julia cut her off.

"Yes. Yes it is,"

"Oh Goddess! He actually _has_ that kind of stuff?"

"I guess all guys do,"

"Where did you find it?"

"On his nightstand," Julia answered.

"Hmm," Chelsea thought, "I have that kind of stuff too, but I put it where not just anyone can find it,"

"So does my mom," Julia replied.

"He just left it out in the open like that?" Chelsea questioned, "You'd think he'd be more careful hiding that kind of stuff, especially with his reputation,"

"Do you think there's more?" Julia questioned slyly.

"We can't just go digging through her personal stuff looking for... _that_," Chelsea said uncomfortably.

"But do you understand what kind of dirt we'd have on him if we found more?" Julia said excitedly.

"Well the animal trader likes it dirty, just look at this thing!"

"Don't you think he'd be embarrassed if he knew we knew?"

"Maybe..." Julia trailed off, "But it's just so funny to think he actually has feelings! And this is such a cute picture of Sabrina,"

Julia motioned to the lovely picture in Chelsea's hand of the smiling intellectual standing under a cherry blossom tree.

"Let's just put it back," said Chelsea while giggling.

"Yeah, you're right," Julia agreed, and the two girls laughed about it for the next hour-and-a-half.

XxX

"Achoo!" Vaughn sneezed as he got a sudden irritating feeling that someone, somewhere, was laughing at his expense.

XxX

After Chelsea bade Julia goodbye so she could return to her work, she decided it was time to mine. She had never been mining before, so to just be safe she stocked up on wild herbs to give her a boost of energy if she needed it. The way Sabrina explained mining and excavating, it didn't seem all too hard. She just needed a watering can, hammer, and hoe to clear the lava and rocks, the hoe was to till for gold in the dirt.

As she reached the pier, she asked Kirk, the sailor, to take her up to Volcano Island; he obliged getting her there in half of the time Chelsea expected it to take. Stepping out of the boat Chelsea couldn't believe her eyes. They were right to call it Volcano Island. The whole land mass was a giant craggy monolith with molten lava pooling off its sides. The two people on the island seemed like unfamiliar faces, one very scary looking, and the other... not so scary. Both of them were well aware of Chelsea's presence, and the fact that she was just standing there staring at the volcano, mouth agape.

"What business do you have here, young lady?" asked the very scary man. Chelsea immediately froze.

"I...I'd like to do some excavating," Chelsea replied shakily. The scary man gave Chelsea a weird look.

"Little girl, do you even know the meaning of the word "excavate,"" he asked.

"Uncle," the not so scary one said, "Let her try it, she may have a knack for it,"

"Fine," he replied, waving Chelsea off, "But I refuse to take responsibility of her if she becomes injured. That'll be your problem Will," the scary man said. Will nodded, and offered Chelsea his hand. Chelsea took it, still in shock from the impressive appearance of the island.

"My name is William Terry Louis Andrew Carrick Jonathan Dredge Hams Reading Roger Southwark Alwick Plymouth Junior Regison III. But you may call me Will. What is your name, my lady?" Will inquired, still holding her hand.

"I'm Chelsea Reynolds, but you can call me Chelsea," she replied. This guy really did have a long name.

"That man," Will gestured towards the scary-looking guy, "Is my uncle Regis, he has a daughter named Sabrina, maybe you've met her?"

Chelsea was in double-shock now, that scary, vampire-esque man was Sabrina's father? There was no way, Sabrina was too cute and sweet. Before Chelsea realized it, Will was repeating himself.

"Eh-hem," Will cleared his throat, "I said, perhaps you've met her?"

"Oh! Oh yes, I have met her," Chelsea replied, "It was just quite a shock to learn that Regis is her father, they really look nothing alike,"

"Yes," Will agreed, "Now shall I debrief you about how mining works?"

"Nah, that'll be fine," Chelsea said after considering it, "I already know what I have to do," and with that, Chelsea took one great step inside the volcano.

"You know," Chelsea said to Will while stepping forward, "I think I'm gonna be really good at mine-"

Suddenly, a loud cracking sound came from the floor underneath Chelsea. Instantly it collapsed and she fell through a dark hole leading to deeper and deeper floors.

"Oh dear," was all Will had to say before gathering up a team of excavators.

XxX


	5. The Clinic

_Beep._

Cold, dark...

_Beep._

Chelsea's eyes fluttered open, she blinked several times. No one.

_Beep._

No one was... there? Where was "there" anyway?

_Beep._

Then came the irritating stench, _hospital_. Chelsea knew. They all were the same, especially the awful smells associated with them. Obviously, she had hurt herself during her little... trip through the mines. It was her fault, she didn't bother to listen, _again_, and just jumped head first into something she knew nothing about. In her defense, Sabrina never told her about the floor just collapsing like that. Really, that's kind of a detail worth mentioning, especially for a beginner.

Chelsea couldn't bear to feel ill-will towards Sabrina though, it wasn't her fault that Chelsea hadn't listened to Will when he tried explaining excavating to her. And it certainly wasn't her fault that Chelsea wasn't been paying attention to where she was going when she first walked into the mines. Chelsea's only real question, where was this hospital?

Using her elbows, she lifted herself up from the laying position she was previously in. With a sigh, she plopped out of bed to look out her window. The cold tile floors sent shivers up her spine almost as if someone put an ice cube down her shirt. Hospital gowns really needed to be warmer, this was just ridiculous.

Her steps were light and delicate, but she made it to the window. The moon was out in the center of the sky, so it had to be late. Chelsea leaned against the window pane, and let her back slide down the wall until she was sitting on the floor. It was times like these where she realized how lonely she really was, usually she'd have Persia to talk to, or snuggle on, or both. Persia wasn't here, Chelsea was alone.

"Why hello there!" An awfully cheerful woman said while flicking on the light switch near the door. Chelsea jumped, Goddess that surprised her. The cheery woman's blue skirt dragged on the floor as her heels clicked towards Chelsea. "Need a hand?" she inquired, while extending one of her own. The other held a small wooden clipboard. Quite thankfully, Chelsea accepted the hand and the lovely nurse pulled her to her feet.

"I'm Chelsea," Chelsea stated blatantly, "Thank you very much," The nurse giggled at Chelsea's frankness.

"I'm Elli, do you know where you are?" Chelsea shook her head no, so Elli elaborated, "That was quite a tumble you took in those mines, and when we got the call we were happy to take you in for awhile,"

"In where?" Chelsea questioned, not fully understanding what Elli was talking about.

"The Mineral Town Clinic, but I was getting there," Elli paused, and considered for a second why her patient was not in bed, but she supposed that didn't matter at the moment, "When you fell through that hole, you hit your head pretty good, apparently. You would not believe the frantic call that I got from your friend Will, he was just up in arms about you,"

Chelsea nodded. So Will was the one who got her out of there...

"Well Elli, do you know when I'll be allowed to leave?" Elli checked her clipboard, simultaneously adding a few notes and scribbles here and there.

"It looks like the doctor wants to do a few more tests on you," Elli started as she flicked back her chestnut hair, "After that, you should be free to go,"

"Alright," Chelsea replied, flipping her bangs out of her eyes. It was a real pain to not have her bandanna. "How long do you think that'd take?"

"It'll be later today," Elli said, "Way later. It's only two am."

Chelsea was surprised by how late it was, "How long have I been out?"

"You've been incapacitated for almost eleven hours," Elli responded, glancing at her clipboard to verify.

Eleven hours? Chelsea was disappointed, she'd lost out on an entire afternoon's worth of mining, and now her sleep schedule would be messed up.

"Elli," Chelsea questioned, a thought occurring to her, "Why are you here so early in the morning?"

"I live at this hospital with the doctor. Your heart-rate sky rocketed after you woke up, and my pager notified me. So here we are," Elli said with a laugh, whipping her arms in a small circle to illustrate "here".

"Now, because it's obvious you're doing better, I'm going to leave you to get some sleep, myself included,"

"Wait!" Chelsea interjected. Elli paused, and turned her attention back towards Chelsea.

...

"I don't know if I can pay for this hospital visit," Chelsea whispered shamefully, "See, I'm in a little bit of fina-"

"Oh, honey don't worry about it!" Elli said sweetly, "You're stay has been paid in full, in advance,"

"By who?" Chelsea asked.

"That Will boy, he said he felt responsible for your accident. He went all "I've never injured a maiden, before," on me," Elli shrugged.

"Ah, thank you," Chelsea said quietly, walking back to her bed, "Sorry I woke you,"

"Oh honey, that's my job," with that, Elli left, flicking off the lights as she went. Chelsea could hear her footsteps clicking on the linoleum tiles the entire length of the hallway, then silence.

After a few brief minutes, sleep claimed Chelsea. Her last coherent thoughts were_ 'I'll have to remember to thank him'._

XxX

"One more test of your reflexes, and you're good to go," smiled the doctor, who had introduced himself as Trent. Chelsea smiled back as she sat on the checkup table, watching Trent dig through his doctor-tools. With a grunt, he pulled out a small hammer and told Chelsea to sit still. Gently, he tapped under her knee cap. Without any consciously exerted effort from Chelsea, her knee kicked forward. Then he did the same with her opposite leg.

"Your reflexes seem to be just fine," Trent commented.

"Does that mean I can go now?" Chelsea really was tired of staying in hospitals, being there was depressing and reminded her that she didn't have anyone who particularly cared about her. Or at least, cared enough to be there when she woke up. Well, excluding Elli, but that didn't really count, now did it? It was her job to be there when the patient woke up.

Trent nodded, "Elli should have your regular clothes all washed up for you in the front, then you're free to leave,"

Ah, her clothes. Chelsea was starting to really miss her bandanna. As soon as the doctor was finished giving her the standard "please be more careful with yourself" speech, Chelsea bolted and changed into her ranching clothes in the bathroom at the clinic. But, how exactly, was she supposed to get home? Chelsea figured she'd ask Elli.

"Elli?" Chelsea called, searching for the nurse in the clinic, when someone caught her eye,

"...Sabrina?" Chelsea questioned, in shock. What was Sabrina doing here? And that French braid really looked cute on her, but as Chelsea recalled, that wasn't how Sabrina usually styled her hair...

"E-excuse me?" Sabrina asked, in a much mousier tone than she'd used before, "Have we met?"

"Have we met? Are you crazy, Sabrina, we met the other day," Chelsea said with a puzzled look on her face, taking a few steps towards the ebony-haired girl.

"I'm sorry, but I think you have me confused with someone else..." the Sabrina look-alike said, while pointing her fingers together in a nervous habit.

"Whoa, well then you look just like someone I know," Chelsea said while scratching the back of her head.

"Is there a problem?" a cheerful voice asked whilst walking into the room carrying a stack of paperwork, one that Chelsea recognized as Elli's. "Oh, Chelsea, has the doctor authorized your discharge?" Chelsea nodded yes.

"I see," Elli continued, "Well, there's a ferry service that runs once a week that should be able to take you back to the Sunshine Islands. That boat leaves every Friday, so tomorrow morning," turning away from Chelsea, Elli started talking to the Sabrina-look-alike.

"Mary," the brunette said, "Here to pick up your medication?"

"Ah, yes," Mary replied quietly, almost hiding behind her large glasses. Elli dug for the prescription bottle from behind the counter, filled it, and gave it to Mary. After that, the onyx-eyed beauty left.

"You're still here?" Elli asked Chelsea. Hadn't she been discharged already?

"Um, yeah. Where am I supposed to stay for an entire day waiting for this boat service in the morning?"

"There's an inn that shouldn't be too expensive to stay at, and it's right down the road," Elli stated.

Chelsea blinked. She really had to stay here for another night? She would definitely be lonely now. Bidding Elli adieu, Chelsea left the clinic to find the inn where she would stay the night.

XxX

**Sorry this chapter is kinda shortish and filler-y, but it's essential to the overall plot. I'm sorry! At least you know Chelsea is okay. I've never actually played FoMT or MfoMT, so I'm really sorry if I wrote anything wrong. Thank you so much for reading! Any and all reviews will be replied to with a review of my own on your work. Have a great day!**


	6. Returning Home

That red head Ann sure could talk! Chelsea finally was able to collapse in her rented bed, and the best part was, she got a deducted price. All she had to do was help that Ann wait tables for one night, and her father Doug knocked the price down 100 gold. That was 100 G back in her pocket, just begging to be put in the "Chelsea's Irresponsible Betting" fund. She was behind on that already, this was almost three days out of work when she could have been earning money. Her poor, poor crops withering in the baking sun without anyone to water them...

Chelsea didn't want to dwell on that, it would only make her more depressed. Her day had been difficult enough. Everywhere she walked there were people, _together_. And they were all getting along! At the time she didn't understand how these people from small towns all never had any problems with each other, it puzzled her even more when she considered that this seemed to be the case on the Islands too. She'd met only one disagreeable person so far out of everyone in the Sunshine Islands, and that was Vaughn.

On a lighter note, Chelsea got to experience something that day she hadn't since leaving the city, waitressing. She had actually learned most of her cooking skills when she waitressed. Her old boss used to let her hang out in the kitchen after hours and practice some basic recipes. He used to joke about her culinary prowess, saying that one day she'd become a famous chef and he'd be able to say that he was the first she'd learned from. Those were some of Chelsea's most treasured moments, but after her mom found out... Well, she usually put it as that she was never allowed to go back. She definitely resented her mother for that. Creating something for the sake of others' enjoyment and nourishment, she'd never felt so fulfilled. Maybe that was why she decided to try farming.

Chelsea shook her head, she was not going to dwell on the past anymore. Back to waitressing, yeah, waitressing...

During the late afternoon, there had been very few customers. Chelsea had even felt guilty that she was getting let up 100G for serving barely a handful of people, even then, she split the work with Ann! But, by the time night hit, more and more people began to flood in to the inn's restaurant. It seemed the whole town heard the news of a new girl visiting. Everyone had questions about Chelsea, who she was, where she came from, how long she was planning to stay. Chelsea always just smiled and said she didn't like to talk about herself. She'd ask the customers instead about themselves, and they would talk and talk. There was one girl, Kayla... Karen? Chelsea was pretty sure it was Karen, but she lost count of how many orders of wine she'd brought for the girl. She even considered cutting her off, but the chicken-looking guy she was with did it before Chelsea had to. Karen hadn't been happy, and made a huge fuss. Eventually Chicken-Boy just took her home.

However, that wasn't even the worst of it what Chelsea had seen! When a reddish-brown haired boy came in, he and this blonde girl immediately had some words, some Chelsea refused to repeat. That was the first actual fight she'd seen between anybody in Mineral Town, and she became slightly relieved. These people weren't all perfect. No one else seemed fazed by their fight, though. She even heard Ann mutter something about how the two of them should just have sex already. Chelsea stifled a giggle, and thanked the Goddess no one but her had heard that comment. That was probably good for Ann's sake, too.

Now, staring at the ceiling of her room with her hands behind her head, Chelsea allowed herself to be sad that she had no one special. At least, not anymore. She'd never admit to anyone that she was upset, though. She couldn't deal with all those pitying glances she'd be given. How weak would everyone think she was? How weak would everyone realize that she _was_. Chelsea would die before she'd let anyone know. Turning her head towards the wall opposite her bed, Chelsea noticed something she'd scanned right over upon her first arrival. There was a phone in this room.

_You could call her_, her impulsive side said, _see how she's been putting up with that abusive family of hers_. Chelsea's rational side saw nothing wrong with a phone call, if that was all that came of it, but it was late...

No. Chelsea couldn't call her, it went against everything she believed him. That woman had accused her of so much crap, made her life a living hell for quite some time before she'd left. She wouldn't do it. She would never talk to Annalise again.

Chelsea climbed back in her bed, scared about what she almost did. All the effort she put into getting out of there... almost all for nothing. That night she slept fitfully, haunted by images of her past that she came so close to believing were either not real, or over.

XxX

"Aughh, my head," Chelsea said while grasping her throbbing temples. It was almost time for her to board the boat from Mineral Town headed to Sprout Island. In a matter of only a few hours, she'd be back home.

Home... That's the place where you are supposed to be happiest. Sure, Chelsea liked her old ranch, but was she really happy there? She was happier than before, so that counted for something. But before, she also had another person to care for that made her happy. After she lost that person, she also lost her happiness. That thought depressed Chelsea. Was happiness really so... reliant on others? She dismissed her thoughts, she could be happy without caring for another person. She'd submerse herself in her work and take satisfaction from being successful. She would create her own brand of happiness.

"Chelsea?" asked a sweet and soothing voice. Chelsea looked up and saw Elli staring at her with a smile. She knelled down next to where Chelsea was sitting in the sand. She seemed to be lost in thought. When Elli had approached her, she was staring off at the crashing waves and sighing. "Please be more careful, I don't want to see you here again anytime soon,"

Chelsea's face fell.

"Ah! Let me clarify, I don't want to see you again under these _circumstances,_" Ellis said while waving her hand back and forth. Chelsea's face perked up at the clarification, she had liked Elli and it hurt to think that she didn't want to see her again.

"So did you actually come to see me off?" Chelsea questioned, getting straight to the point.

"Haha," Elli giggled, "You figured me out,"

Chelsea nodded, and the two of them sat in a comfortable silence for about fifteen minutes. Elli looked up after hearing a loud horn in the distance.

"There's your boat," Elli said, with a sad smile on her face.

"I guess so..." Chelsea said reluctantly.

"Seriously, Chelsea, I think you're funny," Elli started, "Come back for a visit, sometime, okay?"

Chelsea smiled genuinely, "Thanks, Elli. I just might take you up on the offer sometime,"

The horn sounded again, but this time it was much louder. The gentle sea breeze tickled Chelsea's face. It was time for her to go.

"Do you think you'll need any help with anything?" Elli asked.

"Umm," Chelsea contemplated for a moment, tapping her finger on her chin, "Would you mind telling Ann I say goodbye? That's really it," Chelsea shrugged and Elli smiled.

"That would be no trouble at all," Chelsea smiled to Elli, silently thanking her for being there during her moment of sadness. Not like Elli had even realized that she pulled Chelsea out of the start of a night of crying, but Chelsea appreciated it none-the-less.

Within minutes, the boat docked and Chelsea boarded. She spent her first moments on the ship waving to -was that a misty eyed?- Elli, until the boat was too far away for Chelsea to see her anymore. Without much thought, Chelsea decided to spend the rest of her boat ride below deck so she could get some sleep. This ride was reminding her too much of her first ride to the islands. That time she had been throwing up over the side of the deck every other hour. Sleep was definitely in her future.

XxX

There was a rapping on the door to Chelsea's cabin a few hours after sleep had claimed her.

"Miss," the voice said, "We've docked in the Sunshine Islands,"

Chelsea rubbed the sleep from her tired eyes and smacked her lips. She was finally home. She left out a sigh of relief, one that she didn't even know she'd been holding.

"Thanks," Chelsea called through the door. She gathered the few possessions that were with her, and tied her bandanna back around her head. Upon making her way to the boardwalk, she was surprised to find that there were actually people there... waiting for her? Chelsea had to have been the happiest person alive at that moment. There was Taro, Julia, Natalie, Mirabelle, Elliot, Will, and even Mark, standing at the end of the pier to greet her. Chelsea fought back the tears forming in her eyes, someone was there, in fact, not "someone" but "someone_s_". Chelsea had people who were caring for her. She hadn't expected that to happen, not once in a million years. She found it extremely odd that her face fell after she realized Vaughn wasn't there. Why did she care about that jerk, anyway? She wasn't going to let that bother her again, not in this moment of extreme delight that she was swimming in right now.

"Chelsea!" Julia's voice sounded out in happiness, "Oh Goddess, I missed you so much!" she said while enveloping her friend in a tight hug.

"Oof-" Chelsea grunted, "I missed you too Julia,"

Before long, everyone was asking Chelsea if she was okay and how her brief stay was in Mineral Town. Chelsea merely shrugged them off by saying it was all okay, and letting them know how happy she was to be back on her ranch. Then she blanched.

"M-my, ranch... Are all my crops dead?" She asked, almost not wanting to know the answer. She absentmindedly brought her hands to her lips. Was everything okay there?

"Chels," Julia said, "Don't worry your pretty little head. Me 'n' Natalie have been watering your crops everyday!"

"What do you mean _me_ and Natalie?" Natalie shot back, "Chelsea, I'm the one who has been doing work on your farm. Julia was just there giggling about how cute my brother was when she picked me up that morning,"

Elliot's face turned as red as a tomato and he avoided everyone's gazes as they all turned to look at him. Julia got red too, but at least her hair and her face didn't match.

Chelsea turned towards everyone, "You all have no idea how happy all of you being here makes me, thank you," she said with a genuine smile, then acknowledging special thanks to Julia and Natalie for their up-keep of her farm.

After that, most of the other villagers left and bid Chelsea a goodnight. All except Natalie and Julia who wanted a detailed account of everything that happened to her while she was in Mineral Town.

"Should we go to dinner, then?" Natalie suggested.

"I could eat," Chelsea said with a stretch, "There was really nothing to munch on all day on that boat."

Julia stared at her.

"I forgot snacks," she shrugged. And with that, the three walked themselves to the little cafe on the west side of the island.

XxX

Natalie snorted.

"That's _seriously_ all that happened?" she asked blankly, "More stuff was going on here than with you. I never actually thought I'd say that,"

"Don't be mean, Natalie," Julia said, but it was obvious that she had been hoping for a little more gossip as well.

"Then what was so interesting going on around here," Chelsea challenged light-heartedly.

"Harvest Goddess Festival," both girls said.

"Yeah," Julia added, "Alisa's been planning everything meticulously for the past two days,"

"She was pretty worried when she found out you wouldn't be there for rehearsal,"

"Excuse me, what?" Chelsea asked. She had no idea what was going on. Rehearsal? For what? And who was Alisa?

"Alisa," Natalie said, though it was phrased almost like a question.

"She's the girl who lives at the church with Nathan," Julia said, "I thought I told you about her,"

Chelsea furrowed her brow, okay, it was sounding a little familiar.

"Go on," Chelsea said wile leaning in closer on their table.

"In celebration of the Harvest Goddess Festival, all the girls who live on the islands perform a dance in honor of the Goddess' birthday, which is on the eighth," Natalie explained impatiently, why didn't Chelsea know this already?

"Anyways, you're supposed to bring a date," Julia said.

Had Chelsea been drinking water, she would have spurted it all over the table.

"W-who are you guys bringing?" Chelsea stuttered. There had to be someone she could go with! She couldn't show up as the only loser without a date!

"I'm going with Pierre," Natalie said.

"And I'm going with Elliot," Julia added. Chelsea thought briefly, there had to be someone she could go with!

"Will?" Chelsea asked, "Is he going with anyone? I could go with him as thanks for him paying my hospital fees,"

Natalie laughed.

"That's just Will being Will! He's all chivalrous and stuff. He probably felt responsible for your accident, plus, I think Lily would get really mad at you for asking him to the Goddess Festival," Natalie said.

"Yeah," Julia agreed, "Don't read that far into his kind gestures,"

"Wait," Chelsea backtracked, "Who's Lily?"

Julia sighed, "Remember? The cute oriental girl I told you about? Treasure hunter? Does any of that ring a bell?"

Chelsea sighed too. She really did need to pay more attention when Julia told her important things.

"Sure," Chelsea said to appease Julia's frustrations, "Who is she then?"

"Will's wife," Natalie and Julia said in unison. Then Natalie reached for a sip of her strawberry milk.

"Huh, he's married at this age?" Chelsea stated in the form of a question, "Don't you think that's kind of young?"

"Chelsea," Natalie said sarcastically, "You're the only person who thinks it's young to be married at twenty-four,"

"Anyways, isn't there a more important matter for you at hand?" Julia reminded Chelsea.

"Oh crap I need a date,"

"And you need to learn the Harvest Goddess Dance," Natalie smiled evilly. There was an aura about her at that moment that just gave Chelsea the feeling that if Natalie had to learn some stupid dance, she was going to drag everyone else down with her. Chelsea made a mental note right there to not get involved with the planning of Natalie's wedding, whenever that may be. Talk about your bride-zilla.

"What about Mark, does he have a date?" Chelsea asked while changing the subject.

"I think he asked Sabrina," Julia bemused, and tapped her chin.

"And Denny's going with Lanna," Natalie added.

Chelsea paled. That means... there was only one eligible bachelor left.

She would have to go with Charlie.

"Like hell you're going with Charlie," Natalie said with an eye roll, almost reading Chelsea's thoughts.

"That's it, I'm not going," Chelsea declared loudly.

"Noooo," Julia begged in an annoyingly high-pitched voice, "He's not that bad,"

"Oh yes he is," Chelsea retorted, "Why isn't he going with Sabrina, anyways?"

"She asked him, but he turned her down flat, and that was weeks ago," Natalie said.

"Then why would this be any different with me?" Chelsea asked.

"Because he's different around you," Julia said, "He's not as mean and is more considerate of other people's feelings,"

Chelsea snorted, "I do not believe that one bit,"

"Alright, fine," Julia said, "That may not be true now, but I don't know... Maybe one day?"

"You just want to be related to me too after you and Natalie become in-laws," Chelsea said with a cocked eyebrow. Natalie giggled to herself, and Julia's face became a little red.

"My motives have nothing to do with this," Julia giggled to herself.

XxX

**Sorry this took a few days to get out, I lost my motivation in the middle of it. Maybe that's because no one reviewed chapter five! :le-gasp: More reviews means quicker updates, and I'm going back to school on the 16th so it might take me even longer to update. But, I will never abandon this story! It's my baby and I've already done so much work on it...**

**Please review, I hope you enjoyed! C:**


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